1. Karine Jean-Pierre was born on August 13,1974 and is a French-born American political advisor who served as the White House press secretary from May 2022 to January 2025, and a senior advisor to President Joe Biden from October 2024 to January 2025.
Karine Jean-Pierre is the first black person and the first openly LGBTQ person to serve in the position of White House press secretary.
Karine Jean-Pierre was previously a political analyst for NBC News and MSNBC and a lecturer in international and public affairs at Columbia University.
Karine Jean-Pierre was born in Fort-de-France, Martinique, France, the daughter of Haitian immigrants.
Karine Jean-Pierre has two younger siblings, and was five when her family relocated to Queens Village, a neighborhood in Queens, New York City.
Karine Jean-Pierre's mother worked as a home health aide and was active in her Pentecostal church, while her father was a taxi driver, who had trained as an engineer.
Karine Jean-Pierre was often responsible for caring for her siblings, eight and ten years younger, because both parents worked six or seven days per week.
Karine Jean-Pierre has described her household as conservative, Catholic, and repressive.
Karine Jean-Pierre graduated from Kellenberg Memorial High School, a college-preparatory school on Long Island, in 1993.
Karine Jean-Pierre's parents wanted her to study medicine, and she studied life sciences at the New York Institute of Technology as a commuter student, but performed poorly on the Medical College Admission Test.
Karine Jean-Pierre earned a Master of Public Affairs from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, in 2003, where she served in student government and decided to pursue politics.
Karine Jean-Pierre is fluent in English, French, and Haitian Creole.
Karine Jean-Pierre was the southeast regional political director for John Edwards's presidential campaign in 2004.
In 2011, Karine Jean-Pierre served as National Deputy Battleground States Director for President Obama's 2012 re-election campaign.
Karine Jean-Pierre served as the deputy campaign manager for Martin O'Malley's 2016 presidential campaign.
In January 2019, Karine Jean-Pierre became a political analyst for NBC News and MSNBC.
Karine Jean-Pierre has worked at the Center for Community and Corporate Ethics.
Karine Jean-Pierre worked as a senior advisor to Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaign.
On November 29,2020, the Biden-Harris transition team announced that Karine Jean-Pierre had been made Principal Deputy Press Secretary.
Karine Jean-Pierre is the first Black person and the first openly LGBTQ person to hold the position.
In June 2023, the Office of Special Counsel, the government agency that enforces the Hatch Act, stated in a letter that Karine Jean-Pierre had violated the act in briefings before the 2022 midterm election, in which she repeatedly made references to "MAGA Republicans", and referred to candidates as "mega MAGA Republican officials who don't believe in the rule of law".
The OSC issued Karine Jean-Pierre a warning, stating that it was not clear whether Karine Jean-Pierre had willfully violated the law, but that further incidents could result in the OSC pursuing disciplinary action.
Karine Jean-Pierre said that she had been told that the phrasing was acceptable "in the context of talking about their policies, in talking about their values".
In October 2023, the OSC issued Karine Jean-Pierre another warning, having found she used the term "MAGA" again shortly after their original warning.
Karine Jean-Pierre has fielded questions on topics going beyond national security and foreign policy.
Karine Jean-Pierre continued to run the joint press conferences with Kirby and select the reporters who would question him instead of letting him choose.
In December 2023, Karine Jean-Pierre turned down an offer to become president of abortion advocacy group EMILY's List.
On October 7,2024, Karine Jean-Pierre was promoted to a Senior Advisor position in the Biden administration, concurrent to her role as Press Secretary.
Karine Jean-Pierre frequently defended Biden against questions about his age, mental acuity, and fitness to serve as president.
Reporters described Karine Jean-Pierre as lacking transparency and being evasive on the issue, and negatively compared her skill in handling such questions with her predecessor, Jen Psaki.
Karine Jean-Pierre acknowledged making mistakes in handling questions about Biden's health.
Karine Jean-Pierre is a lesbian and was in a relationship with former CNN correspondent Suzanne Malveaux until September 2023.
Karine Jean-Pierre's book, Moving Forward: A Story of Hope, Hard Work, and the Promise of America, was published in 2019.
In 2021, Karine Jean-Pierre was named by Carnegie Corporation of New York as an honoree of the Great Immigrants Award.